The Next Social Media Revolution : Substance

Recently I read an article where the author quoted "the age of social media being superficial is almost over".

I could not agree more.  Social Media has been a little superficial, but for good reason. With the development of the big social networks, superficiality is a natural occurrence when millions of people continue to demand simplicity. In the age of social media we were all learning how to use social networks, first for personal enjoyment, then for business purposes.We needed articles such as 'How to Set Up a Facebook Page for Business', and '5 Tips for Social Media'. We required the basics until we were ready for the next step. Recently we have noticed a huge shift in the social media world, a shift in people calling out for substance and expertise, indicating the world is ready to take that next step.

IN THE BEGINNING

Think back to 2004 when the social media phenomena began taking off. I still recall hearing about the popularity of Facebook among college students in America. I also remember reading an article by Stephen King (yes, THAT Stephen King) around the same time telling us Twitter would be the next big social network. At that time Twitter had around 150,000 users. 

What began as a way to keep in touch and share information with friends and loved ones, quickly attracted the attention of marketers world wide who realised industry could benefit greatly by participating in social media. Marketing tools, apps and analytics were then developed to grow and measure the effectiveness of social media for businesses. Suddenly every business owner wanted a piece of the social media success pie, but we needed instruction, we required those experts, in our infancy, to teach us the basics.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CLASSROOM

The world soon became a social media classroom. Certain revered experts became the teachers, we became the students soaking up as much information as possible. Without official qualifications, the 'right' way to manage social media is still debated, yet out of this has come certain essential processes for social networks, proven methods that work when creating a social media marketing strategy. These include having a Facebook Business Page, Blogging, Tweeting helpful information, joining Google+ communities and humanising your interaction with fans. Over the past 5 years especially, most of us now understand the fundamentals and are sick of seeing the same old tips and tricks posted all over the place. We want substance, we want to know what we can do better and how to fully utilise the tools and knowledge we have acquired to really make a difference; whether that difference be to our community, business or industry. How can we take what we have learnt and improve.

WHY WE CRAVE SUBSTANCE 
As children our parents get excited at each milestone. For me, I remember clearly my children's first time walking, first words, first day at school. As parents we see personal development through our children. As children grow and learn more they become bored, they crave information with more substance. They seek explanations, simply telling them a fact is not enough, they want to know why it is so. As adults, we are no different.

I, for one, am not seeing the same quality of information on coming from social media. So much of it is repetition, recycled information, just worded differently. I am also sick of seeing so called social media 'experts' tweeting exactly the same message 40 times in one week as traffic building exercises. There will always be a need for the basics, especially when new tools are introduced and updates released, but isn't it time we stepped up and provided meaty content with useful quality information? Social media does not need to be complicated, but we need depth now. Report on case studies of those who have succeeded, give defined steps to growing a business online by measuring data correctly. Research topics, provide new and interesting ways of utilising social media. I am certainly not saying I have all of the answers, but many do.

As people learn more about social media the competition is becoming greater and of better quality. Those still using the basics will be left behind. It won't be long before social media becomes a degree subject at university and those qualified will dominate the industry.

Keep an eye out for those providing new and interesting content. It does not have to be complicated, the best information is simple but new. This will be the key to online success in the future, I hope to be  apart of it and look forward to watching the experts really shine.